Re: XML: What it is and What it Does

[Mary McWilliams Johnson <mary -at- SUPERCONNECT -dot- COM>]

There's a whole bunch of information about XML (as to when and how it can
be useful) on my Web site "Mary's Tips on Designing Web Sites."

        http://www.superconnect.com/marystips

Just click on the button "Truth about XML."


Cordially,                 Mary McWilliams Johnson
                               McJohnson Communications
  Documentation  /  Web Site Design, Development and Graphics
                              http://www.superconnect.com
              ------------------------------º><º------------------------------
        Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else.
              ------------------------------º><º------------------------------




At 01:18 PM 1/14/99 -0500, Joe Miller wrote:
>Seems that not everyone knows what XML stands for and what it has to do
>with tech writing/publishing.  Here's the short answer.
>
>XML stands for Extended Markup Language.  It's much better for formatting
>online documents than HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), which is not very
>powerful (nor, in my opinion, very useful for publishing), and is not as
>complex and hard to master as SGML (Standardized General Markup Language),
>the markup language from which both HTML and XML are derived.
>
>You can find more information about XML at <http://www.xml.com>, a site
>sponsored by O'Reilly Publishing and Seybold Seminars.  In addition to
>current news about XML, it has links to XML defintions.
>
>As Peter Carroll explained it so well in the Publishing Forum on Universal
>Thread last month <http://www.universalthread.com> (included here with
>Peter's permission).
>
>>XML:
>> a. provides a common format for all document files
>> b. enables content management.
>>     In a nutshell, it means that authors will not be tied to proprietary
>>     formats (e.g. MS Word) and that knowledge can be captured
>>     systematically at the authoring stage instead of after publishing.
>>     This will enable faster and more efficient production through reuse
>>     of content fragments across diverse systems.
>
>In his reply giving his permission to quote his words, Peter added:
>   "You are probably aware that XML can be many things to many people and
>    systems so it can be a difficult and lengthy process to describe it
>fully."
>
>I hope this necessarily short explanation helps you understand what XML is
>and what it can do.
>
>--Joe Miller
>
>


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